Currently celebrating 10 years of publishing works in ESSENCE Magazine, the American author-poet Aberjhani is among the line-up of writers featured in new editions of the literary journal Mississippi Crow Magazine as well as the online July issue of Poetry Life and Times. The author is also at the center of recent controversy regarding his recent blog series contrasting Hiphop culture and the Harlem Renaissance on MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/Aberjhani 

“The funny thing about the new Mississippi Crow,” said Aberjhani, “is that the editor published a poem by me called ‘In Regard to a Poet’s Birthday,’ which was originally written in honor of another poet and later dedicated to all serious students (something I consider myself to be) of the craft of poetry. Now here it is getting published in July, which is my birthday month.”

The new issue of Poetry Life and Times which takes a look at the impact of war in the world, contains three of Aberjhani’s poems on the subject. These include his well-known “Angel of War,” “Angel of Peace,” and “Holiday Letter for a Poet Gone to War.” The on-going creation of his angel series is the subject of the new personal essay, “Upon This Bridge of Silver Wings.” In the essay, Aberjhani describes the writing experience as an uncanny one: “Sometimes the words came like ecstatic utterances, sometimes like songs whispered from another time, like actual angelic possessions, or like mental files that had been downloaded while I slept and then printed via my pen as soon as I got up.”

In addition to his own projects, his work with other authors led to the blog series, Is Hiphop the New Harlem Renaissance?  based largely on his reading of Bayo Olorunto and A.K. Powell’s self-help volume, The Hiphop Driven Life. Public and private responses to the series have been divided.

Moreover, he also wrote the foreword for the newly-published young adult novel, BLOOD KIN, A SAVANNAH STORY, by Robert T.S. Mickles, Sr. Although set during the Civil War, the novel explores themes and issues dealing with interracial relationships rarely addressed in books intended for younger readers. “’Blood Kin’ took me by surprise with the way the author handled some very sensitive and insensitive issues. When he did me the honor of allowing me to read the book in manuscript form, I was happy to agree to write the foreword.”    

A collection of the Aberjhani’s poetry as well as a novel are presently under review for publication consideration. 

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